The Minnesota Vikings made Justin Jefferson the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history with a monumental four-year, $140 million contract extension on Monday. While there was never any drama or doubt that the Vikings would get their face of the franchise locked in with an extension, it ends any chance of Jefferson joining another team.
Yet, just because both Jefferson and the Vikings were always committed to getting a long-term contract done doesn’t mean there weren’t other teams that registered trade interest.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there were at least three teams who tried enticing Minnesota with an offer too good to refuse for Jefferson. Those teams were the Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets, and San Francisco 49ers. The only issue is, the Vikings had zero interest in negotiating.
“Never ever got close. There were teams that reached out. The New York Jets reached out. The Indianapolis Colts reached out. The 49ers reached out. This was all before the draft. Every team that called the Vikings before the draft was told ‘we’re not trading him’. The conversations went nowhere with anybody. There should have been 31 teams calling the Vikings.”
ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealing the Colts, Jets, and 49ers pursued Justin Jefferson trade
It costs nothing to send a trade offer. While the Vikings never showed any public or private interest in trading their franchise player, it never hurts to see if they’re open to negotiating. As Schefter noted, we’re surprised there weren’t more inquiries into acquiring one of the NFL’s best players.
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